30 August 2009

My recipe file contains years worth of food stained recipes I've collected from various cooking classes over the years, as well as restaurants I've worked in, magazine clippings, and best of all - treasured recipes handwritten by my mother, father, sisters, cousins, aunts, a great aunt, my husband, my brother's girlfriend who later became his wife, and various other family and friends, some of whom are no longer living. Every time I see any of these, it brings back memories of the person and situation it came from. Although I never intended it as such, this is my treasure trove!

A divine recipe from the first person who taught me to cook - my mom - in her handwriting.

My dad's Mediterranean Sour Dough Bread, in his handwriting.

Plating instructions with wine pairings, written by my husband, before a dinner party we gave, years ago.

Soup recipe written by a dear friend.

Dip instructions written by another dear friend.

Recipe given to me by my sister-in-law, before she married my brother. (It has her maiden name).

A recipe from one of my aunts, copied out in my sister's handwriting.

From another aunt, in my college handwriting.

A recipe from my dad's mother. My mom's mother was also a great cook, but she did everything from memory - never wrote her recipes down.

My mom's Florentine Cookie recipe, which I copied in grade school. I think I had just learned cursive handwriting!

I wrote out this recipe of my mom's, when I was in high school.

My great-grandmother's Blueberry Cake recipe, written for me by my great aunt (her daughter), when she was in her 80's.

Brownie recipes from a neighbor, my 7th grade home economics teacher (the purple mimeographed one), and the wife of our neighborhood grocer.